The Sarnia Sting right-winger is entering his NHL draft year, so he wants to improve his already-high stock.

He also wants to show why he should have made Team Canada for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Perreault was a surprising cut from the national summer under-18 team after scoring three goals in three games at the selection camp in late July.

“I thought I had a good camp,” he said. “Obviously I wish I’d made the team, but I didn’t, so I’ve got to carry that to my season and just keep working hard and prove them wrong.”

Perreault, 17, did manage to find a silver lining in being left off the squad.

“Unfortunately, I had to go home, but it gave me an opportunity to get back in the gym early and just keep skating and getting better,” he said.

The Sting will play the Soo Greyhounds in an Ontario Hockey League pre-season game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Chatham Memorial Arena.

Perreault is listed as a potential first-round pick on several 2020 NHL mock drafts after his outstanding debut season.

He scored 30 goals and picked up 25 assists in 63 games. He ranked second in goals and fourth in points (55) among OHL rookies and was named to the OHL all-rookie first team.

The five-foot-11, 198-pound Perreault isn’t setting any statistical targets for this season, but he does want to improve on his rookie numbers.

“I just want to get better every game,” said the native of Sherbrooke, Que. “As the season goes, just keep getting better and better and help the team out. I think the team as a whole, we can do really well this year.”

The 2018 OHL first-round draft pick didn’t expect to light up the scoreboard like he did as a rookie.

“Obviously not,” said Perreault, who had two goals in the season opener. “I just tried to come in, work as hard as I could in practices, carry it over to games and obviously I got lucky to get my confidence that first game, scored two goals, which I think helped me out throughout the season.”

Perreault collected five two-goal games and finished second on the Sting in goals.

He credited his veteran teammates for telling him to be confident and pushing him hard in practices. He tried to match their work ethic.

“It was just good to see all those top guys – how they do, how they get ready for the games, how they play the games,” he said. “Just studying what they do and try to bring it to my game. I think so far I’ve been doing a pretty good job of of following their steps. I’m just going to keep doing that.”

Perreault had a role model long before he arrived in Sarnia. His father, Yanic, played parts of 14 NHL seasons with Toronto, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville, Phoenix and Chicago before retiring in 2008.

“Ever since I started skating, he’s always been the one to show me how to skate, how to shoot the puck, where to go, my positioning – everything like that,” he said.

Yanic Perreault was still in the NHL earning a reputation as one of the league’s top faceoff men when Jacob began playing.

“He had to make time for me, and obviously he did,” Jacob Perreault said. “I’m pretty thankful for that. He’s still working with the Blackhawks now. He can give me some tips and it’s helped me so far.”

Yanic Perreault – a six-time 20-goal scorer – is a Blackhawks development coach.

The family moved to the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Ill., from Quebec seven years ago.

Jacob Perreault grew up playing in the Chicago Mission AAA hockey system. It was “awesome” to be coached by his father on those teams, he said.

“I know the game pretty well obviously because my dad is always showing me clips and drawing stuff on the board to help me out and see the game mentally, so I can get out there and just know what I’m doing,” he said. “He’s helped me out a lot.”